Occupational lung disease - what the general physician needs to know
Thu, 03 Apr 2025
Dr Patrick Howlett, Professor Joanna Szram and Dr Johanna Feary have co-authored an article in the Clinical Medicine journal about occupational lung disease for the general physician.
The five take home points are:
- A concise yet careful history can help determine whether there is an occupational cause for a patient's presentation
- Refer to a specialist occupational lung disease centre as soon as an occupational cause is suspected
- There has been a recent increase in the number of silicosis cases in the UK; vigilance is needed for cases
- Occupational lung diseases are largely preventable with appropriate monitoring and safeguards.
Read the full article on ScienceDirect.
You can also read more about our team's publications.
Confronting the growing epidemic of silicosis and tuberculosis among small scale miners
Fri, 04 Apr 2025
Dr Patrick Howlett has called for urgent action to address the estimated 50 million small-scale miners worldwide who are at risk of a growing epidemic of lung disease.
Dr Howlett specifically calls for "an urgent, coordinated strategy that safeguards international workers, focusing on primary dust prevention, targeted research, and policy reforms. Without immediate action, millions of miners remain at risk of severe lung disease and premature death."
Read the comment article in Lancet Public Health.
